Kirk Cousins Predicted to Force Vikings’ Hand in Extension Talks

Getty Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The Minnesota Vikings are at a crossroads with quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is entering the final year of his contract in Minnesota.

Extension talks reached an impasse in the offseason after the Vikings declined a discounted deal from Cousins’ camp to maintain flexibility, sending the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback into a prove-it year with the franchise.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano weighed the possibilities for this season and predicted the Vikings to land in a similar territory — on the fringes of a playoff appearance but too far from the bottom to have their choice in a 2024 quarterback prospect.

In that case, Graziano sees the Vikings re-sign Cousins, due to the distance to trade up to land a top quarterback prospect being too daunting.

“The Vikings don’t win 13 games again, but they contend for and maybe even secure a wild-card spot,” Graziano wrote, predicting the most likely outcome for Minnesota. “That puts them too far down the draft order to grab one of the top QB prospects, and when they look around, they decide that keeping Cousins is the best option, so they re-sign him in free agency.”

Graziano’s prediction comes on the heels of the Vikings passing on top-five quarterback prospects Will Levis and Hendon Hooker in the first round of the 2023 draft. That check swing at quarterback shows the new regime is not willing to pick just anyone in the draft.

“I don’t think you sacrifice it being the right player. Regardless of the when, the where, the why, the how, you can’t sacrifice that,” Kevin O’Connell said of selecting a rookie quarterback approaching the draft, per Vikings.com. “You have to have ultra-belief and connection on making that decision because it is such an important decision.”

Vikings’ Draft Position With Kirk Cousins Will Make Finding His Successor Costly

Since arriving in Minnesota in 2018, Cousins has kept the franchise in the middle ground of the NFL. The Vikings had the league’s No. 1-ranked defense when Cousins arrived and ideally had a two-year window before the group atrophied by the 2020 season.

Minnesota missed the postseason in 2018 but managed to win a playoff game against the New Orleans Saints in the 2019 postseason before being trounced by the San Francisco 49ers. The wild-card win over the Saints was enough for Rick Spielman, Mike Zimmer and Cousins to receive contract extensions — but many pieces from the 2017 NFC title game run had aged out of their prime.

Since then, Cousins has kept the franchise afloat, but at the expense of the Vikings not landing a pick inside the top 10 during his tenure. Minnesota’s average starting draft position with Cousins at quarterback is 19th.

Landing a blue chip quarterback prospect will require getting inside the top 10. The Vikings will have to sacrifice more draft capital to land in that territory if they decide to move on from Cousins.

The other option would be finding another quarterback in free agency, but another veteran quarterback contract will be pricey considering Cousins already carries $20 million against the cap for the 2024 season whether he’s rostered or not.

 Vikings Owner Mark Wilf Breaks Silence on Kirk Cousins

Speaking to local media on August 8, Vikings owner Mark Wilf addressed the future at quarterback, saying he’ll leave the decision-making to the new brain trust.

“We’ll leave that to [general manager] Kwesi [Adofo-Mensah] and head coach [Kevin O’Connell] to work through those discussions,” Wilf said, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “There’s always conversations on that. But our real focus is 100% on 2023 and getting where we need to be, and where I know we can be.”

Echoing Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s messaging throughout Cousins’ uncertain future, Wilf put the onus on what happens this season.